MONTREAL – Pablo Carreno Busta spoiled Hubert Hurkacz’s perfect record in ATP finals on Sunday, beating him 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the Montreal Masters.
The 23rd-ranked Spaniard became the first unseeded winner in Canada in two decades as he tasted success in his first career final at the Masters level.
Poland’s Hurkacz had been unbeaten in five finals, Carreno Busta putting the first blemish on that record in just over an hour and three quarters.
He survived 18 aces from the eighth-seeded Pole to become the first Canadian champion ranked outside the Top 20 since number 43 Andrei Pavel in 2001 at Montreal.
He is the third Spanish winner after five-time champion Rafael Nadal and Manuel Orantes in 1975.
The first two sets were mirror images with Hurkacz breaking in the sixth game on his way to winning the opener.
In the second Carreno Busta, who is projected to rise to 14th in the world, claimed a break in the second game and held his margin to leave the match hanging at one set each.
Two breaks in the final set sealed the win for Carreno Busta, who wrapped up his seventh ATP title on his first match point.
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